EDUCATION / ASAP

Education Programs

ASAP is a state-accredited interdisciplinary hands-on science course offered to high school students both as semester-long courses during the school year and as individual field trips for high school students. For the past six years, ASAP students have earned science credit on the Farm, learning about science through its practical applications in agriculture.

ASAP is offered during the school year at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA), and as individual field trips to the Farm for other schools.

ASAP is offered during the school year at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA), and as individual field trips to the Farm for other schools.

ASFA students maintain a number of organic garden beds on the school grounds, selecting crops, amending soil, and tending and harvesting produce that is then used in the school cafeteria.

Botany, soil chemistry, arthropods and other invertebrates, water, sun, bacteria, weather, and air quality are a few of the science topics students cover in depth, through lab experiments, lectures, assignments, and farm work. Students also learn about the farm ecosystem, local and international food systems, and the historical, cultural, and political context of food production and consumption in our community, in the country, and around the globe.

The course is interesting, fun, and can sometimes be demanding. It is taught outside, in the field (literally), and in a classroom. Students must complete homework readings, attend lectures, perform experiments, take quizzes and do an individual research project as well as a group project.

For more information on ASAP, contact Jones Valley Urban Farm Program Director Rachel Reinhart at programs@jvuf.org.